AXA has today completed the sale of two of its businesses – SunLife and Elevate.
SunLife, the over-50s specialist insurer, is now part of the Phoenix Group, and AXA’s Elevate adviser platform has been acquired by Standard Life.
SunLife will operate as an independent distribution business, and will continue to be led by its managing director Dean Lamble, along with his management team.
Speaking of the move, Lamble said he was delighted to be joining the Phoenix Group, adding: “The over-50 market is a fast-growing, attractive market segment that is currently underserved. SunLife’s deep understanding of this market coupled with its expertise in direct marketing make it well placed to be the brand of choice for customers over 50.”
Standard Life’s purchase of Elevate has created one of the largest adviser platform businesses in the UK with AUA of over £40bn and net inflows of £5.1bn in the last 12 months. In total, the two platforms support over 3,000 adviser businesses and 360,000 customers, according to the
Financial Reporter.
Standard Life CEO Barry O’Dwyer said: “We look forward to welcoming advisers, their clients and our new colleagues to Standard Life.
“I am delighted that we have completed the acquisition of Elevate within the timescales we anticipated and this milestone means we are now able to engage with Elevate advisers to agree how best to work with them going forward.”
David Tiller, Standard Life’s head of adviser and wealth manager propositions, said the acquisition “is a clear sign of our continued commitment to lead the UK adviser platform market.”
He added: “Elevate provides highly rated and multi-award winning platform services to a large number of advisers we do not currently have a close relationship with.
“Last week the adviser consultation programme was launched, and we hope to talk to as many of the Elevate advisers as possible over the coming months to gain insight and feedback. This will help us to prioritise the things they value most, allowing us to evolve their proposition to support their businesses and their clients while delivering a sustainable platform.”
